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Miley Cyrus
Last week, my biz partner, Phyllis Neill, wrote a piece on Miley Cyrus. Her points are well taken, but from a branding standpoint, Miley Cyrus might have made the best decision for her career.
Phyllis’ post: Miley Cyrus: What marketing folks can learn from her.
How many of you saw Miley Cyrus Twerk at the MTV Video Music Awards or on YouTube afterwards? I’m going to guess a lot of you did. And if you didn’t you probably heard the buzz.
In case you missed it or want to have another peek, I’ve posted a link to her performance at the bottom of this blog.—(I hope I haven’t lost most of my male readers to YouTube). I’ve also added a link on how to Twerk (Oxford on line dictionary: “To dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, thrusting stance.”
I’m not going to comment on Cyrus’ performance, but she did get everyone’s attention. Her thrusting hips generated over 300,000 Tweets a second—a new record. And she and her manager were thrilled with the outcome. Miley’s manager, Larry Rudolph, was quoted by TMZ, “It could not have gone better. The fans all got it. The rest eventually will.”
Let’s use Miley Cyrus’ Twerking to talk about branding. Ms. Cyrus had been branded as a Disney teenage ingénue.
But what does a teenage ingénue do when she passes her teenage years? Cyrus is now twenty and clearly not a teenager any more. If she wants to continue her career, she must change her brand and her image.
She chose the same manager as Britney Spears so it shouldn’t be a shock that Cyrus is opting for the same type of outrageous behavior. Spear’s outrageous theatrics got the public’s attention and put her career back on track.
Cyrus’ strategy actually has a lot to do with your business or business career. Today it’s mandatory that all businesses and career minded individuals have a brand—a business must have a business brand and all of us common folks—a personal brand.
I define brand as “How people think or respond to you when they hear or see your name.”
But how do you establish a brand?
It’s highly unlikely you are choosing to be a pop star or that you’ll have the opportunity to dance on MTV–so you must find your own brand and another platform.
I contend writing a regular blog gives you the greatest chance to make a good name for yourself or your business.
Your blogging content is what sets you apart as a thought leader or expert in your field. And Google search will find you because Google loves good blog content. Then you can utilize social media to get the word out. (Maybe not 300,000 Tweets a minute—but enough to make a difference)
What’s your brand? How are you letting others know?
If you’re not blogging, you might consider giving it a try.
Miley Cyrus twerking at MTV Music Awards
David Sher is a co-founder of Buzz12 Advertising. You can read more of his posts by looking for the “David Sher Posts” category in the sidebar of Buzz12’s website.
